Puppet MastersS


Boat

Russian ships will complete Nord Stream 2 pipeline without European help


RT
Mon, 23 Dec 2019 11:27 UTC
Pipelay
© Global Look PressPipelay onboard the Pioneering Spirit
Russia says the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be finished despite all the challenges, after Swiss-Dutch company Allseas decided to stop its works on the project in the Baltic Sea, under the threat of US sanctions.

Over the weekend, the engineering company reportedly withdrew its ships, which had been engaged in the laying of the last section of the pipeline. The pull-out occurred shortly after US President Donald Trump signed into law the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which provides for harsh sanctions on foreign contractors involved in the project.

However, two of Allseas' vessels - Solitaire and Pioneering Spirit - were still in the waters of the Baltic Sea as of Monday morning, according to ship tracking website Marine Traffic.

"Despite all of the factors that have been working against the project, we expect the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to be completed soon," Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with Russia's RBK broadcaster. The minister doubts that the US restrictions can fully stop the project, as it is already in the final stages and any fines or punitive measures from the US would cause discontent among its allies.
2 ships
© Nord Stream AG/GazpromSolitaire • Akademik Cherskiy

Comment: RT, 23/12/2019: NS2 will become operational in 2nd half of 2020
The $11-billion pipeline, which extends from Russia to Germany across the bottom of the Baltic Sea, will be finished "in the second half of the next year," Peter Beyer, the government's Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation, told Deutschlandfunk radio station on Monday.

Some in US-Russian business circles agree with the standpoint. "It's obvious that the project will be finalized," Alexis Rodzianko, the president and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, told RIA Novosti.

"Therefore, the sanctions look more like an expression of discontent, I don't think that they [the US] can somehow stop it. If some fines or penalties are to follow, they will be very unpopular among us allies."
RT, 23/12/2019 US Sanctions on pipeline a declaration of 'economic war' that will backfire on American business interests
It may be "quite favorable for Russia" to finish the Nord Stream 2 construction by itself, says German business newsletter publisher Dr Eike Hamer, as European companies participating in the project are targeted by US sanctions. The costs of completing the pipeline will definitely be much higher after the Swiss-Dutch company Allseas announced it is quitting the project. The delay could be a few months but what's "more important is that the pipeline is going to be finished."

According to the economist, the Russian energy major Gazprom, which is leading the Nord Stream 2 project, could "surely" sue European companies for winding up operations "unless it was excluded in the contracts."

"The sanctions and promises for additional contracts by the Russians could be much more favorable and be a better deal for Allseas than the US sanctions, which are against international law."

"Afterwards, all costs can be saved from sending less oil and gas via the US-puppets Poland and Ukraine, or increase local taxes on US oil firms in Russia or Anglo-American shareholders of Russian companies. In the end, benefits will overwhelm the costs in the project by far."

"This is an economic war the US has started already." The Russian gas pipeline "will cause inconvenience but not a severe problem."

"The problem arises for the Anglo-American forces that made up the sanctions because they will be regarded as a difficult and dangerous business partner. Who trusts an Anglo-American firm in future when you never know if you are sanctioned, threatened of not completing your work? In that sense the US has much more to lose than the rest of the world."

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the Cabinet on Monday to think over Russia's possible response to Washington's sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 project.
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Oil Well

Whose oil is it? Saudi Arabia deploys troops to Syria's Omar oilfield


AMN
Sun, 22 Dec 2019 00:00 UTC
Troops
© Image Source
Saudi Arabia has reportedly deployed dozens of combat troops to a major oilfield in Syria's eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr as the United States and some of its regional allies are vying with one another to seize oil reserves and plunder natural resources in the war-battered country.

Informed local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Arabic service of Turkey's official Anadolu news agency that the Saudi soldiers arrived at Omar oil field aboard helicopters.

The sources added that the troops are expected to guard Saudi and Egyptian experts, who arrived at the energy facility a week ago and are believed to be working for Saudi Arabia's giant state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco.

The report noted that the deployment of Saudi soldiers to the oil field coincided with the arrival of about 30 trucks equipped with digging and drilling machinery.

The sources said the vehicles had entered Syrian territory from northern Iraq, and that Saudi soldiers have been stationed in a residential area close to Omar oil field that currently houses American troops.

Comment: Do we need more proof to the premise: 'It's always been about the oil?' The fuel of greed outweighs rightful ownership, national boundaries, commitments to partners such as the Kurds, the sovereignty of nations...wrong across the board. For the US and cohorts, this is one more selfish, despicable and unjustifiable action.

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Stop

China: New US Space Force is a 'threat to space, peace and security'

John Bowden
The Hill
Mon, 23 Dec 2019 08:47 UTC
SpaceForce
© Bradscribe/WordPress.com/KJN
Chinese officials said Monday that the creation of a U.S. Space Force would overly weaponize outer space and endanger peaceful missions.

The Associated Press reported that Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, told reporters that Beijing is "deeply concerned" and "resolutely opposed" to the Trump administration's establishment of the sixth branch of the U.S. military.
"The relevant U.S. actions are a serious violation of the international consensus on the peaceful use of outer space, undermine global strategic balance and stability, and pose a direct threat to outer space peace and security."
His remarks come just days after President Trump signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which contained provisions officially authorizing the Space Force first touted by the president in 2018.

The military branch is the first to be designed specifically to counter threats involving outer space, a possibility that U.S. officials have pointed to for years since China successfully destroyed a satellite with a missile in 2007.

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Down

Japan considers dropping US-led sanctions against Iran

Paul Antonopoulos
FRN
Mon, 23 Dec 2019 00:00 UTC
AbeRouhani
© unknownJapanesse PM Shinzo Abe • Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that Japan had thought of a way to topple economic sanctions against Tehran. Rouhani made the statement after returning from his two-day trip to Japan where he sought support from the Japanese, traditional US allies who chose to mediate the tension between the two countries.

"The Japanese have proposed a new way of overturning US sanctions, we have also done one. We have discussed and agreed to continue consultations on the issue," he said in a speech on Iranian television. The Iranian president also said that Japan supports Iran regarding the peace plan for the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, the US is trying to build an international coalition to protect the straits and other waters in the Persian Gulf region, an effort dubbed Operation Sentinel. The US sees Iran as a threat in the region.

"Japan supports Iran's peace plan in the Strait of Hormuz. Secondly, Japan openly stated that it would not participate in US plans to ensure security in the region," said Rouhani, praising Tokyo's position.
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Network

In 'sovereign internet' test, Russia will disconnect entire country from web on December 23rd


ZeroHedge
Sat, 21 Dec 2019 18:32 UTC
popular search engines internet russia
© RMAA GroupTop 5 Russian search engines in 2018
On Monday a key initiative undertaken by the Russian government for over the past year to establish a 'sovereign internet' will face a major test. That's when the country and its information systems will be intentionally disconnected from the worldwide web, according to Russia's communications ministry.

Russia aims to ready its own web to both survive a global internet shutdown and defend against foreign cyber-attacks and intrusion on its data infrastructure.

The test is based on the recently passed "sovereign internet" bill into Russian law, which requires "all communications operators, messengers and email providers [to] participate in the tests, as well as state-run institutions and security services," according to a summary of the law by Reuters.

Comment: Russia plans in decades, not months.

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War Whore

Best of the Web: Nord Stream 2: Washington to "free" Europe from freedom to decide for itself

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Sun, 22 Dec 2019 18:30 UTC
nord stream 2
Nord Stream 2 is a pipeline project extending from Russia to Germany that - when completed - will provide a secure means of exporting Russian natural gas to Western Europe - circumventing a now volatile Ukraine all while tying Russia and Europe together further through mutually beneficial economic activity.

Of course, for special interests residing across the Atlantic in Washington and on Wall Street, Russia and Europe building closer ties through constructive economic activity undermines a long-standing strategy of coercing Europe via the constant threat of a supposedly hostile Kremlin Washington claims undermines a free and united Europe.

Ironically, in order to preserve Europe's "freedom" the US has now resorted to punishing interests in Europe - and in Germany specifically - for freely choosing to do business with Russia. It not only fully illustrates the supreme hypocrisy that lies at the very root of Washington's current foreign policy, but also threatens to undermine legitimate US business interests seeking - just as Russia does - to build constructive economic ties with companies and nations around the globe.
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Light Saber

Former NSA Director Mike Rogers is cooperating with probe of Trump-Russia investigation

Matthew Cole
The Intercept
Mon, 23 Dec 2019 17:56 UTC
Michael Rogers
© Alex Wong/Getty ImagesFormer Director of the National Security Agency Adm. Mike Rogers leaves after a closed hearing before the Senate (Select) Intelligence Committee on May 16, 2018 in Washington, D.C.
Retired Adm. Michael Rogers, former director of the National Security Agency, has been cooperating with the Justice Department's probe into the origins of the counterintelligence investigation of the Trump presidential campaign's alleged ties to Russia, according to four people familiar with Rogers's participation.

Rogers has met the prosecutor leading the probe, Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham, on multiple occasions, according to two people familiar with Rogers's cooperation. While the substance of those meetings is not clear, Rogers has cooperated voluntarily, several people with knowledge of the matter said.

Rogers, who retired in May 2018, did not respond to requests for comment.

Comment: The Intercept appears to have swallowed a good deal of the MSM koolaid regarding "Russian meddling", surveillance of US citizens, and "Ukraine quid pro quo". Sad.

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Star of David

'Merry Christmas' from Israel to Syria: Zionist state attacks military targets near Damascus, 3 dead

Seth J. Frantzman
Jerusalem Post
Mon, 23 Dec 2019 18:26 UTC
israel missiles
© FACEBOOK DIARY OF A MORTAR SHELL IN DAMASCUS/YOUMIYAT QADIFAT HAWUN FI DAMASHQ/VIA REUTERSWhat is believed to be guided missiles are seen in the sky during what is reported to be an attack in Damascus, Syria
Three people were allegedly killed in reported Israeli strikes in Syria on Sunday night, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Israel attacked several targets in the Set Zaynab area near Damascus on Sunday night, the Lebanese newspaper Al Ahbar reported on Monday morning. The area is known for an important Shi'ite tomb where pilgrims from Lebanon, Iraq and Iran congregate as well as an area where Hezbollah and Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard members are located.

During the strikes local reports indicated several weapons warehouses were hit, causing material damages.Al Ahbar further said that a wave of missiles were allegedly spotted coming from near the Golan Heights and off the Lebanese coast over Sidon.
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Airplane

Russia ready to share all info required by MH17 crash investigators as Netherlands now seeks Moscow's help


RT
Mon, 23 Dec 2019 18:19 UTC
MH17
© Sputnik / Mikhail Voskresensky
Moscow is poised to give assistance in the investigation of the crash of flight MH17 in 2014, as it always has been, a Russian EU envoy has assured stakeholders, responding to a call for cooperation by the Dutch foreign minister.

"We are ready to cooperate in clarifying all the circumstances of the incident," Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's envoy to the European Union, told media on Monday. In fact, Moscow has always been poised to do so, but its proposals were brushed aside, the diplomat recalled.

Moscow is also prepared to hand over "the data we have" to its Dutch counterparts, ahead of a court trial that will look at the evidence collected by the Netherlands-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in March next year, Chizhov said.

The envoy spoke shortly after Stef Blok, the foreign minister of the Netherlands, said Russia's contribution is needed to find some missing facts about the crash, which killed 298 passengers and crew. The Hague had "asked the Russian Federation to cooperate in a factual investigation into the closing of airspace above and around Ukraine," Blok wrote to Dutch lawmakers on Sunday.

Blok's letter comes two months after Chris van Dam, spokesman for the MH17 probe, announced the inquiry will focus on why Ukraine's airspace "was not closed" over Donetsk at the time of intense hostilities between the government military and rebel forces in the breakaway Donbass region.
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Network

Trump has 'respect' for Tulsi Gabbard voting 'present' on impeachment: 'She knew it was wrong' and took flak from her party

Mark Moore
New York Post
Sun, 22 Dec 2019 18:02 UTC
TrumpTulsi
© wunc.org/Getty Images/TwitterPresident Donald Trump • Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard
President Trump lauded Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for voting "present" on the two articles of impeachment approved last week in the Democratic-controlled House.

"I give her respect. She didn't vote the other day. I give her a lot of respect. Because she knew it was wrong. She took a pass," Trump said during a speech Saturday to the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Gabbard, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, said she voted against impeachment because it did not have bipartisan support.


"Trump is guilty of wrongdoing," the Hawaii Democrat said in a statement after the vote. "I also could not in good conscience vote for impeachment because removal of a sitting President must not be the culmination of a partisan process, fueled by tribal animosities that have so gravely divided our country."


Comment: A fuller version of what she had to say:
"Throughout my life, whether through serving in the military or in Congress, I've always worked to do what is in the best interests of our country. Not what's best for me politically or what's best for my political party. I have always put our country first. One may not always agree with my decision, but everyone should know that I will always do what I believe to be right for the country that I love.

"After doing my due diligence in reviewing the 658-page impeachment report, I came to the conclusion that I could not in good conscience vote either yes or no, I am standing in the center and have decided to vote 'present.'"

No Republicans voted to impeach Trump.

Two Democrats - Reps. Jeff Van Drew and Collin Peterson of Minnesota - voted against both articles. The following day, Van Drew of New Jersey, switched parties to become a Republican.

Comment: Trump also commented on Tulsi being smeared as a "Russian asset" by bitter loser Hillary Clinton:
"Then she said Tulsi Gabbard is a weapon of Russia," Trump told reporters on Friday. "Then she said Tulsi Gabbard is a 'weapon of Russia.' And they lost all credibility because we know Tulsi Gabbard — and I give her respect — she didn't vote the other day. I give her a lot of respect because she knew it was wrong. She took a pass. But I don't know. I do know one thing: she's not an agent of Russia."
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